Mark G. Edwards

Regenerative Business Voices

This is a book about the future of sustainability. Regenerative Business Voices: Values-based Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Enterprises tells the stories of four regenerative organizations and the people who have founded them and guided them towards sustaining futures. Regenerative sustainability recognizes the urgency of transforming organizations to reverse the unsustainable pathways we are currently on. Regenerative businesses do not simply do less harm, or produce zero emissions, or optimize the efficient use of natural resources; they also restore and enhance well-being in social and ecological systems. The stories presented here are analyzed using the business ethics approach called Giving Voice to Values (GVV). Through the application of GVV principles, we uncover the processes involved in how regenerative businesses develop and function, and gain insights into how business leaders voice their deep convictions, overcome silencing rationalizations, normalize their execution of personal choice, discover deep purpose in their work, and draw on their personal histories to create new ways of doing business. We present and analyze these cases to understand how and why expressing values can be so crucial in developing sustainable businesses, and to provide practical examples of how individuals can generate enthusiasm, counter objections, gain allies, and prepare for and practice conversations that help them move forward. The book offers managers and sustainability consultants a new way of understanding some of the central dynamics involved in business ethics and organizational change for sustainability. It will be immensely valuable to educators, business students, and practitioners interested in sustainability, environmental business ethics, and corporate social responsibility topics.